A huge designer property in Beijing and millions of dollars hidden in seafood boxes — a state television series on China’s anti-graft campaign is captivating viewers and lifting the lid on officials brought down on graft charges.
A staggering number of Chinese Communist Party cadres have been caught up in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) anti-corruption drive in the past few years, which critics say has also served as a way to remove political enemies since he came to power in 2013.
The ongoing five-part series aired by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) shows televised confessions by officials accused of corruption, including former Chinese deputy minister of public security Sun Lijun (孫力軍).
Sun — who oversaw security in Hong Kong during months of unrest — is facing allegations that include taking bribes, manipulating the stock market, illegally possessing firearms and paying for sex.
The TV series claimed Sun received regular bribes worth US$14 million disguised as “small seafood boxes” from a man he later appointed as police chief in Jiangsu Province.
“I helped him all this way,” Sun said on the program.
It is common practice for CCTV to air “confessions” by criminal suspects, including former officials, before they have even appeared in court — something widely condemned by rights groups.
Another episode featured imprisoned Chen Gang (陳剛) of the China Association for Science and Technology — who was said to have built a 72,000m2 private compound complete with a Chinese-style residence, swimming pool and artificial beach with illicit funds.
Others featured were accused of taking millions in bribes.
Those convicted of corruption can be stripped of their wealth, party membership and face a lifetime behind bars or even death.
More than 1 million officials have been punished under the anti-corruption campaign so far, which has been a cornerstone of Xi’s tenure.
Wang Fuyu (王富玉), who featured in the second episode of the series, was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve on Monday — a day after his confession was aired.
Hundreds of millions took to social media in China to dissect the series, most angered by the luxuries the officials had enjoyed.
One user said that the men did not seem to be remorseful and had, on the contrary, “lived a wonderful life” and were “unable to hide their pride.”
Some feared the display of excessive wealth was more likely to be appealing.
“Is this a damned civil servant recruitment advertisement?” one skeptic wrote.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS